Sleeping well, following the sleep phases, combats diseases and invigorates the body, ensuring greater health and numerous vital functions.
Knowing how to sleep well is not an easy task, but it is extremely necessary for maintaining the health of the human body. As long as you maintain a regular daily sleep routine, you will attract many benefits to your body that you might not even imagine.
By catching up on sleep, it is possible to reinvigorate the body, thus guaranteeing numerous vital functions. From the same point of view, it is while you sleep well that the body performs the body’s main restorative functions. These include muscle growth, tissue repair and protein synthesis.
However, you need to understand the phases of sleep and follow them, learn all the benefits so that you understand what it’s like to sleep well and take advantage of all the benefits of it.
Phases do are
Spending a lot of time sleeping is not synonymous with rest, although everyone has that impression. It turns out that our sleep is divided into several cycles with some phases to be “fulfilled”, however it is necessary to complete the four phases in all cycles so that you can sleep well.
Thus, the cycles last between 90 and 100 minutes and happen 4 to 5 times a night, completing the 8 hours of sleep (or 6) necessary for humans. Therefore, see the sleep phases below to understand their importance.
1. First phase
This is the easiest phase to wake up during sleep, as we are talking about the phase in which we are falling asleep. In the meantime, which lasts about ten minutes, our brain is slowly “turning off” and breathing becomes slower. However, our muscles have not yet relaxed, so it is possible that your eyes will open or that you will move in bed.
2. Second phase
In this phase, sleep begins lightly, the body temperature decreases, the heartbeat becomes calmer, however, it is still possible to wake up easily to external noises. Here, the duration is about twenty minutes of rest, that is, you are not sleeping completely well, but you are already slowly relaxing your muscles.
3. Third phase
This is one of the main ones: the deep sleep phase, where the muscles relax completely and at the same time the brain waves decrease. As a result, your body begins the process of recovering from minor injuries that appeared throughout the day. Finally, it is worth mentioning that in the third phase there are no dreams and it is as if your mind has finally switched off.
4. Fourth phase – REM
REM sleep, (from English: Rapid Eye Movement), is the phase where dreams occur while the heart rate increases. Each REM cycle can last around ten minutes, however, it is important that this phase is not interrupted for better use, ultimately sleeping very well.
Sleeping well is a sign of health
According to experts, it is recommended that humans have an average of 8 hours of sleep per day, but without any interruption. When you have a sleep routine, you start to understand what it’s like to sleep well, you certainly won’t want to let it get out of whack. However, this is not the only advantage of having a good night’s sleep.
Sleeping well is synonymous with health for the entire body, as it strengthens the immune system. This act causes your body to release hormones that help consolidate memory during rest, as well as many other benefits.
Benefits of sleeping well
- Combat hypertension, as if you sleep well, blood pressure levels improve.
- Reduces stress, because while you sleep, the body reduces the production of adrenaline and cortisol, a factor that reduces stress and the risk of suffering from anxiety, depression and hair loss.
- Combats cardiovascular diseases, since those who sleep little have an imbalance in the production of chemicals and hormones in the body, which increases the chances of developing problems such as cardiovascular diseases, strokes and high cholesterol.
- Satiates hunger, as while we sleep, our body synthesizes leptin (hormone responsible for controlling the feeling of satiety). As a result, those who sleep well satisfy their hunger more.
- Improves mood, as this guarantees more energy and a better mood during the day, as the levels of stress-related hormones are lower in the blood.
- It helps with memory, since during sleep the synthesis of proteins responsible for neural connections takes place that help strengthen and improve memory and learning.
- It helps physical performance, since while we sleep our body synthesizes the hormone GH, whose main function is to help our growth.
- Controls diabetes, as if you have difficulty sleeping, this can increase insulin resistance in people with diabetes.
Tips for sleeping well
- Create a dark and silent environment, you will certainly fall asleep more peacefully.
- Firstly, have a comfortable bed and nice sheets.
- Avoid coffee at night, except only if you don’t sleep at that time, but it is recommended that you do not consume the drink at least 6 (six) hours before bed.
- Read before bed, as reading encourages sleep when tired.
- After work, relax your mind little by little for two or three hours before going to bed, this way your night’s sleep will be better.
- In addition to coffee, also avoid stimulating foods such as sugary sweets, cinnamon and pepper, as they can harm your sleep.
- Prefer to go to the gym two or three hours before bed, as stimulating activities can make it difficult to sleep.
- Avoid using your cell phone, notebook or watching TV for a long time before bed, as these devices can cause you to lose sleep.
- Have a good regular routine, with a time to sleep and wake up, so you get your body used to it and it adapts without harming your health.
- Cigarettes, alcohol, among other addictions can make you lose sleep, so avoid them.
- If you are in the habit of napping during the day, remember not to let this rest last more than 30 minutes, as despite being short, it can cause you to lose your night’s sleep.
- If you have insomnia problems, use teas to calm your body and mind, in order to sleep faster.
What did you think of this content? You will certainly find it interesting to also read: Beauty routine – Practical guide on how to create your own.
Sources: Pfizer, Tua Saúde, Tua Saúde, Pneumosomo.
Imagens: Pixabay, Freepik, Freepik, Freepik, Freepik e Safe.
